Child Maltreatment Surveillance Indicator Framework
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The federal health portfolio has conducted surveillance on child maltreatment as a public health issue since the 1990s. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is now releasing the Child Maltreatment Surveillance Indicator Framework, to take its place alongside other PHAC frameworks, such as the Suicide Surveillance Indicator Framework. Based on a scoping review of existing reviews and meta-analyses, this Framework, along with the online interactive data tool, presents child maltreatment outcome indicators and risk and protective factors at the individual, family, community and societal levels, disaggregated by sex, age and other sociodemographic variables. This Framework will function as a valuable resource pertaining to an issue that affects at least one in three Canadian adults.
Quick Stats Overview
For more information about each indicator, click on the categories below:
Outcomes
| Indicator Group | Indicator Measure(s) | Latest Estimate | Source (Year) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childhood maltreatment | Percentage (%) of the population aged 15+ who report experiencing, before age 15, any of these three types of childhood violence: physical or sexual abuse by an adult and/or exposure to violence by parents or guardians | 34.1% | GSS - Victimization (2014) | Description |
| Percentage (%) of the population aged 15+ who report experiencing, before age 15, physical abuse by an adult | 27.4% | GSS - Victimization (2014) | Description | |
| Percentage (%) of the population aged 15+ who report experiencing, before age 15, sexual abuse by an adult | 8.1% | GSS - Victimization (2014) | Description | |
| Percentage (%) of the population aged 15+ who report experiencing, before age 15, exposure to violence by parents or guardians | 10.6% | GSS - Victimization (2014) | Description | |
| Police-reported child maltreatment | Incidence of police-reported family violence against children aged 0-17 years | 233.0 per 100 000 children | UCR (2016) | Description |
| Injuries due to child maltreatment, emergency department | Proportion of emergency department (ED) presentations for injuries due to child maltreatment, of total eCHIRPP cases, population aged 0-17 years | 146.5 per 100 000 ED cases | eCHIRPP (January 4, 2011 to June 6, 2018) | Description |
| Homicides of children | Number of police-reported homicides of children aged 0-17 years by a family member | 0.4 per 100 000 children | Homicide Survey (2007-2016) | Description |
Individual-Level Risk & Protective Factors (parent/caregiver)
| Indicator Group | Indicator Measure(s) | Latest Estimate | Source (Year) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past family violence | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who report experiencing, before age 16, any of these three types of childhood violence: physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or exposure to violence by parents/guardians in the home | 48.1% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description |
| Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who report contact with a child protection organization before age 16, about difficulties at home | 4.1% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description | |
| Mental illness | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home with symptoms consistent with a mood and/or anxiety disorder in the past 12 months | 5.7% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description |
| Stress | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who report that most days are "quite a bit" or "extremely" stressful | 27.2% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description |
| Substance use | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who report consuming 5+ alcoholic drinks (4+ for females) on one occasion 12+ times in the past 12 months | 19.3% | CCHS - Annual (2017) | Description |
| Percentage (%) of adults with children at home with symptoms of drug abuse/dependence, in the past 12 months | 0.7% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description | |
| Social support | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who perceive a high level of social support | 94.6% | CCHS - Mental Health (2012) | Description |
Family-Level Risk & Protective Factors
| Indicator Group | Indicator Measure(s) | Latest Estimate | Source (Year) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family relationships | Percentage (%) of parents/guardians of children aged 1-9 years who report characteristics associated with high family functioning | 91.1% | SYC-PMK (2010-2011) | Description |
| Percentage (%) of grade 6-10 students who "agree" or "strongly agree" to getting the emotional help and support they need form their family | 64.8% | HBSC (2013-2014) | Description | |
| Percentage (%) of grade 6-10 students who "agree" or "strongly agree" having a lot of arguments with their parents | 21.7% | HBSC (2013-2014) | Description | |
| Family stability | Percentage (%) of children aged 1-9 years who "sometimes" or "often" are exposed to adults or teenagers physically fighting, hitting, or trying to hurt others in their home, as reported by the parent or guardian | 2.6% | SYC-Child (2010-2011) | Description |
| Parenting | Percentage (%) of children aged 1-9 years who "sometimes", "often", or "always" experience physical punishment as a form of discipline, as reported by the parent or guardian | 0.5% | SYC-Child (2010-2011) | Description |
| Caregiver burden | Percentage (%) of adults with children at home who report that caring for family is the main contributor of their day-to-day stress | 18.1% | CCHS - Annual (2017) | Description |
| Early childbearing | Percentage (%) of first-born live births to mothers under the age of 20 | 5.3% | CVSB (2016) | Description |
| Household Income | Percentage (%) of the population under the age of 18 years in economic families living below low-income cut-offs, after tax | 7.4% | CINS (2016) | Description |
Community-Level Risk & Protective Factors
| Indicator Group | Indicator Measure(s) | Latest Estimate | Source (Year) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social environment | Percentage (%) of parents/guardians of children aged 1-9 years who are involved in volunteer organizations (school or church groups, community or ethnic associations, etc.) | 33.9% | SYC-PMK (2010-2011) | Description |
Notes
- Abbreviations: CCHS-Annual = Canadian Community Health Survey – Annual Component; CCHS-MH = Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health; CINS = Canadian Income Survey; HBSC = Health Behaviour in School-aged Children; CIS = Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect; CVSB = Canadian Vital Statistics – Birth Database (excluding Quebec); eCHIRPP = electronic Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program; GSS = General Social Survey; SYC-Child = Survey of Young Canadians – Child questionnaire ; SYC-PMK = Survey of Young Canadians – Person Most Knowledgeable questionnaire; UCR = Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
- Notes:
- GSS (2014): The estimates in this indicator framework were calculated in a manner consistent with those from the Statistics Canada report Family Violence in Canada: A statistical profile 2015, using a slightly different version of the database. All positive responses to all childhood maltreatment questions were counted as indicating maltreatment. In contrast, the original analysis rules for the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire (CEVQ) include all positive responses, except for two of the physical abuse subtypes (the less severe ones) and exposure to intimate partner violence if it occurred less than 3 times.
- Adult is defined as persons 18+ years; Children as persons under 18 years.
- Parental characteristics, not child characteristics, were considered as risk or protective factors for child maltreatment. This is based on a public health perspective that parental risk factors may represent potential outcomes of child maltreatment (such as prenatal substance use or violence).
- In the SYC-Child (Survey of Young Canadians, Child component), the person answering these questions is confirmed at the beginning of the questionnaire to be the Person Most Knowledgeable (PMK) about the following questions. Parent/guardian is used here for simplicity.
Suggested Citation
Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada. Child Maltreatment Surveillance Indicator Framework (CMSIF) Data Tool, 2020 Edition. Public Health Infobase. Ottawa (ON): Public Health Agency of Canada, 2020.